1949 winnicott hate in the countertransference

8/16/2019 1949 Winnicott Hate In The Countertransference

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Hate in the Counter-Transference

Winnicott, D.W. (1949). Hate in the Counter-Transference. Int. J. Psycho-Ana.,!"#$9-%4

In this &a&er I 'ish to eaine one as&ect of the 'hoe su*+ect of a*iaency,naey, hate in the counter-transference. I *eiee that the tas of the anayst (cahi a research anayst) 'ho unertaes the anaysis of a &sychotic is seriousy'ei/hte *y this &henoenon, an that anaysis of &sychotics *ecoes i&ossi*euness the anayst0s o'n hate is etreey 'e sorte-out an conscious. This istantaount to sayin/ that an anayst nees to *e hisef anayse, *ut it aso assertsthat the anaysis of a &sychotic is irsoe as co&are 'ith that of a neurotic, aninherenty so.

A&art fro &sycho-anaytic treatent, the ana/eent of a &sychotic is *oun to *eirsoe. ro tie to tie12 I hae ae acutey critica rears a*out the oerntrens in &sychiatry, 'ith the too easy eectric shocs an the too rastic eucotoies.3ecause of these criticiss that I hae e&resse I 'ou ie to *e foreost inreco/nition of the etree ifficuty inherent in the tas of the &sychiatrist, an of theenta nurse in &articuar. Insane &atients ust a'ays *e a heay eotiona *urenon those 'ho care for the. ne can for/ie those 'ho o this 'or if they o a'futhin/s. This oes not ean, ho'eer, that 'e hae to acce&t 'hateer is one *y&sychiatrists an neuro-sur/eons as soun accorin/ to &rinci&es of science.

Therefore athou/h 'hat foo's is a*out &sycho-anaysis, it reay has aue to the&sychiatrist, een to one 'hose 'or oes not in any 'ay tae hi into the anayticty&e of reationshi& to &atients.

To he& the /enera &sychiatrist the &sycho-anayst ust not ony stuy for hi the&riitie sta/es of the eotiona eeo&ent of the i iniiua, *ut aso uststuy the nature of the eotiona *uren 'hich the &sychiatrist *ears in oin/ his'or. What 'e as anaysts ca the counter-transference nees to *e unerstoo *ythe &sychiatrist too. Ho'eer uch he oes his &atients he cannot aoi hatin/ the,an fearin/ the, an the *etter he no's this the ess 'i hate an fear *e theotie eterinin/ 'hat he oes to his &atients.

1 3ritish 5eica Journa corres&onence (194%)6 an 7Physica Thera&y of 5enta Disorer.7

3ritish 5eica Journa, 5ay 1%, 194%6 1#$882 eucotoy. 3ritish 5eica :tuents; Journa, :&rin/ 19496 !,2,!


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STATEMENT OF THEME

ne cou cassify counter-transference &henoena thus#

1. A*noraity in counter-transference feein/s, an set reationshi&s an

ientifications that are uner re&ression in the anayst. The coent on this is thatthe anayst nees ore anaysis, an 'e *eiee this is ess of an issue aon/ &sycho-anaysts than aon/ &sychothera&ists in /enera.

2. The ientifications an tenencies *eon/in/ to an anayst0s &ersona e&eriencesan &ersona eeo&ent 'hich &roie the &ositie settin/ for his anaytic 'oran ae his 'or ifferent in =uaity fro that of any other anayst.

!. ro these t'o I istin/uish the truy

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o*+ectie counter-transference, or if this is ifficut, the anayst;s oe an hate inreaction to the actua &ersonaity an *ehaiour of the &atient, *ase on o*+ectieo*seration.

I su//est that if an anayst is to anayse &sychotics or anti-socias he ust *e a*e to*e so thorou/hy a'are of the counter-transference that he can sort out an stuy his

o*+ectie reactions to the &atient. These 'i incue hate. Counter-transference&henoena 'i at ties *e the i&ortant thin/s in the anaysis.

The Motive Imputed to the Analyst y the !atient

I 'ish to su//est that the &atient can ony a&&reciate in the anayst 'hat he hisef isca&a*e of feein/. In the atter of otie6 the o*sessiona 'i ten to *e thinin/ ofthe anayst as oin/ his 'or in a futie o*sessiona 'ay. A hy&o-anic &atient 'hois inca&a*e of *ein/ e&resse, ece&t in a seere oo s'in/, an in 'hose

eotiona eeo&ent the e&ressie &osition has not *een securey 'on, 'hocannot fee /uit in a ee& 'ay, or a sense of concern or res&onsi*iity, is una*e tosee the anayst0s 'or as an atte&t on the &art of the anayst to ae re&aration inres&ect of his o'n (the anayst0s) /uit feein/s. A neurotic &atient tens to see theanayst as a*iaent to'ars the &atient, an to e&ect the anayst to sho' as&ittin/ of oe an hate6 this &atient, 'hen in uc, /ets the oe, *ecause soeoneese is /ettin/ the anayst;s hate. Wou it not foo' that if a &sychotic is in a0coincient oe-hate0 state of feein/ he e&eriences a ee& coniction that theanayst is aso ony ca&a*e of the sae crue an an/erous state of coincient oe-hate reationshi&> :hou the anayst sho' oe he 'i surey at the sae oenti the &atient.


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This coincience of oe an hate is soethin/ that characteristicay recurs in theanaysis of &sychotics, /iin/ rise to &ro*es of ana/eent 'hich can easiy taethe anayst *eyon his resources. This coincience of oe an hate to 'hich I areferrin/ is soethin/ 'hich is istinct fro the a//ressie co&onent co&icatin/the &riitie oe i&use an i&ies that in the history of the &atient there 'as an

enironenta faiure at the tie of the first o*+ect-finin/ instinctua i&uses.

If the anayst is /oin/ to hae crue feein/s i&ute to hi he is *est fore'arnean so foreare, for he ust toerate *ein/ &ace in that &osition. A*oe a heust not eny hate that reay eists in hisef. Hate that is +ustifie in the &resentsettin/ has to *e sorte out an e&t in stora/e an aaia*e for eentuainter&retation.

If 'e are to *ecoe a*e to *e the anaysts of &sychotic &atients 'e ust hae

reache o'n to ery &riitie thin/s in oursees, an this is *ut another ea&e ofthe fact that the ans'er to any o*scure &ro*es of &sycho-anaytic &ractice ies infurther anaysis of the anayst. (Psycho-anaytic research is &erha&s a'ays to soeetent an atte&t on the &art of an anayst to carry the 'or of his o'n anaysisfurther than the &oint to 'hich his o'n anayst cou /et hi.)

A ain tas of the anayst of any &atient is to aintain o*+ectiity in re/ar to a thatthe &atient *rin/s, an a s&ecia case of this is the anayst0s nee to *e a*e to hate the&atient o*+ectiey.

Are there not any situations in our orinary anaytic 'or in 'hich the anayst0shate is +ustifie> A &atient of ine, a ery *a o*sessiona, 'as aost oathsoe toe for soe years. I fet *a a*out this unti the anaysis turne a corner an the&atient *ecae oa*e, an then I reai?e that his uniea*eness ha *een an actiesy&to, unconsciousy eterine. It 'as inee a 'onerfu ay for e (uchater on) 'hen I cou actuay te the &atient that I an his friens ha fet re&ee*y hi, *ut that he ha *een too i for us to et hi no'. This 'as aso an i&ortantay for hi, a treenous aance in his a+ustent to reaity.

In the orinary anaysis the anayst has no ifficuty 'ith the ana/eent of his o'nhate. This hate reains atent. The ain thin/, of course, is that throu/h his o'nanaysis he has *ecoe free fro ast reseroirs of unconscious hate *eon/in/ to the&ast an to inner conficts. There are other reasons 'hy hate reains une&resse aneen unfet as such#

1. Anaysis is y chosen +o*, the 'ay I fee I 'i *est ea 'ith y o'n /uit,the 'ay I can e&ress ysef in a constructie 'ay.

2. I /et &ai, or I a in trainin/ to /ain a &ace in society *y &sycho-anaytic

'or.!. I a iscoerin/ thin/s.4. I /et ieiate re'ars throu/h ientification 'ith the &atient, 'ho is ain/


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&ro/ress, an I can see sti /reater

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re'ars soe 'ay ahea, after the en of the treatent.


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As I 'oe I 'as a'are of hain/ unerstoo at a ery ee& ee 'hat 'as yifficuty at that &articuar tie. The first &art of the rea re&resente the orinaryanieties that i/ht eeo& in res&ect of unconscious fantasies of y neurotic&atients. I 'ou *e in an/er of osin/ y han or y fin/ers if these &atientsshou *ecoe intereste in the. With this in of aniety I 'as faiiar, an it 'as

co&aratiey toera*e.

The secon &art of the rea, ho'eer, referre to y reation to the &sychotic&atient. This &atient 'as re=uirin/ of e that I shou hae no reation to her *oy ata, not een an ia/inatie one6 there 'as no *oy that she reco/ni?e as hers an ifshe eiste at a she cou ony fee hersef to *e a in. Any reference to her *oy&rouce &aranoi anieties *ecause to cai that she ha a *oy 'as to &ersecuteher. What she neee of e 'as that I shou hae ony a in s&eain/ to her in.At the cuination of y ifficuties on the eenin/ *efore the rea I ha *ecoe

irritate an ha sai that 'hat she 'as neein/ of e 'as itte *etter than hair-s&ittin/. This ha ha a isastrous effect an it too any 'ees for the anaysis torecoer fro y a&se. The essentia thin/, ho'eer, 'as that I shou unerstany o'n aniety an this 'as re&resente in the rea *y the a*sence of the ri/htsie of y *oy 'hen I trie to /et into reation to the &ay that the &eo&e in the

stas 'ere 'atchin/. This ri/ht sie of y *oy 'as the sie reate to this &articuar&atient an 'as therefore affecte *y her nee to eny a*soutey een an ia/inatiereationshi& of our *oies. This enia 'as &roucin/ in e this &sychotic ty&e ofaniety, uch ess toera*e than orinary castration aniety. Whateer otherinter&retations i/ht *e ae in res&ect of this rea the resut of y hain/reae it an ree*ere it 'as that I 'as a*e to tae u& this anaysis a/ain aneen to hea the har one to it *y y irrita*iity 'hich ha its ori/in in a reactieaniety of a =uaity that 'as a&&ro&riate to y contact 'ith a &atient 'ith no *oy.

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!ostponement of Interpretation

The anayst ust *e &re&are to *ear strain 'ithout e&ectin/ the &atient to no'anythin/ a*out 'hat he is oin/, &erha&s oer a on/ &erio of tie. To o this heust *e easiy a'are of his o'n fear an hate. He is in the &osition of the other ofan infant un*orn or ne'y *o. entuay, he ou/ht to *e a*e to te his &atient'hat he has *een throu/h on the &atient0s *ehaf, *ut an anaysis ay neer /et as faras this. There ay *e too itte /oo e&erience in the &atient0s &ast to 'or on. Whatif there *e no satisfactory reationshi& of eary infancy for the anayst to e&oit in thetransference>

There is a ast ifference *et'een those &atients 'ho hae ha satisfactory eary

e&eriences 'hich can *e iscoere in the transference, an those 'hose ery earye&eriences hae *een so eficient or istorte that the anayst has to *e the first in


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the &atient0s ife to su&&y certain enironenta essentias. In the treatent of the&atient of the atter in a sorts of thin/s in anaytic techni=ue *ecoe itayi&ortant that can *e taen for /rante in the treatent of &atients of the forer ty&e.

I ase an anayst 'ho confines his attention to neurotics 'hether he oes anaysis in

the ar, an he sai, 0Why, noB :urey our +o* is to &roie an orinary enironent,an the ar 'ou *e etraorinary.0 He 'as sur&rise at y =uestion. He 'asorientate to'ars anaysis of neurotics. 3ut this &roision an aintenance of anorinary enironent can *e in itsef a itay i&ortant thin/ in the anaysis of a&sychotic, in fact it can *e, at ties, een ore i&ortant than the er*ainter&retations 'hich aso hae to *e /ien. or the neurotic the couch an 'arthan cofort can *e sy*oica of the other0s oe6 for the &sychotic it 'ou *eore true to say that these thin/s are the anayst0s &hysica e&ression of oe. Thecouch is the anayst0s a& or 'o*, an the 'arth is the ie 'arth of the anayst0s

*oy. An so on.

O#ective Hate $nder Test

There is, I ho&e, a &ro/ression in y stateent of y su*+ect. The anayst0s hate isorinariy atent an is easiy e&t atent. In anaysis of &sychotics the anayst is uner/reater strain to ee& his hate atent, an he can ony o this *y *ein/ thorou/hya'are of it. o' I 'ant to a that in certain sta/es of certain anayses the anayst0shate is actuay sou/ht *y the &atient, an 'hat is then neee is hate that is o*+ectie.

If the &atient sees o*+ectie or +ustifie hate he ust *e a*e to reach it, ese hecannot fee he can reach o*+ectie oe.

It is &erha&s reeant here to cite the case of the chi of the *roen hoe, or the chi'ithout &arents. :uch a chi s&ens his tie unconsciousy ooin/ for his &arents. Itis notoriousy inae=uate to tae such a chi into one0s hoe an to oe hi. Whatha&&ens is that after a 'hie a chi so ao&te /ains ho&e, an then he starts to testout the enironent he has foun, an to see &roof of his /uarians0 a*iity to hateo*+ectiey. It sees that he can *eiee in *ein/ oe ony after reachin/ *ein/hate.

Durin/ the secon 'or 'ar a *oy of nine cae to a hoste for eacuate chiren,sent fro onon not *ecause of *o*s *ut *ecause of truancy. I ho&e to /ie hisoe treatent urin/ his stay in the hoste, *ut his sy&to 'on an he ran a'ay ashe ha a'ays one fro eery'here since the a/e of si 'hen he first ran a'ayfro hoe. Ho'eer, I ha esta*ishe contact 'ith hi in one interie' in 'hich Icou see an inter&ret throu/h a ra'in/ of his that in runnin/ a'ay he 'asunconsciousy sain/ the insie of his hoe an &reserin/ his other fro assaut,as 'e as tryin/ to /et a'ay fro his o'n inner 'or 'hich 'as fu of &ersecutors.


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I 'as not ery sur&rise 'hen he turne u& in the &oice station ery near y hoe.This 'as one of the fe' &oice stations that i not no' hi intiatey. 5y 'ifeery /enerousy too hi in an e&t hi for three onths, three onths of he. He'as the ost oa*e an ost aenin/ of chiren, often star starin/ a. 3utfortunatey 'e ne' 'hat to e&ect. We eat 'ith the first &hase *y /iin/ hi

co&ete freeo an a shiin/ 'heneer he 'ent out. He ha ony to rin/ u& an'e fetche hi fro 'hateer &oice station ha taen char/e of hi.

:oon the e&ecte chan/eoer occurre-the truancy sy&to turne roun, an the*oy starte raati?in/ the assaut on the insie. It 'as reay a 'hoe-tie +o* forthe t'o of us to/ether, an 'hen I 'as out the 'orst e&isoes too &ace.

Inter&retation ha to *e ae at any inute of ay or ni/ht, an often the onysoution in a crisis 'as to ae the correct inter&retation,

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as if the *oy 'ere in anaysis. It 'as the correct inter&retation that he aue a*oeeerythin/.

The i&ortant thin/ for the &ur&ose of this &a&er is the 'ay in 'hich the eoution ofthe *oy;s &ersonaity en/enere hate in e, an 'hat I i a*out it.

Di I hit hi> The ans'er is no, I neer hit. 3ut I shou hae ha to hae one so ifI ha not no'n a a*out y hate an if I ha not et hi no' a*out it too. At crisesI 'ou tae hi *y *oiy stren/th, an 'ithout an/er or *ae, an &ut hi outsiethe front oor, 'hateer the 'eather or the tie of ay or ni/ht. There 'as a s&ecia*e he cou rin/, an he ne' that if he ran/ it he 'ou *e reaitte an no 'orsai a*out the &ast. He use this *e as soon as he ha recoere fro his aniacaattac.

The i&ortant thin/ is that each tie, +ust as I &ut hi outsie the oor, I to hisoethin/6 I sai that 'hat ha ha&&ene ha ae e hate hi. This 'as easy

*ecause it 'as so true.

I thin these 'ors 'ere i&ortant fro the &oint of ie' of his &ro/ress, *ut they'ere ainy i&ortant in ena*in/ e to toerate the situation 'ithout ettin/ out,'ithout osin/ y te&er an eery no' an a/ain urerin/ hi.

This *oy0s fu story cannot *e to here. He 'ent to an A&&roe :choo. His ee&yroote reation to us has reaine one of the fe' sta*e thin/s in his ife. Thise&isoe fro orinary ife can *e use to iustrate the /enera to&ic of hate +ustifie

in the &resent6 this is to *e istin/uishe fro hate that is ony +ustifie in anothersettin/ *ut 'hich is ta&&e *y soe action of a &atient (chi).


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A Mother%s &ove and Hate

ut of a the co&eity of the &ro*e of hate an its roots I 'ant to rescue onethin/, *ecause I *eiee it has an i&ortance for the anayst of &sychotic &atients. Isu//est that the other hates the *a*y *efore the *a*y hates the other, an *efore

the *a*y can no' his other hates hi. 3efore eeo&in/ this thee I 'ant to referto reu0s rears. In Instincts and their Vicissitudes (191 Ho'eer eary inte/ration ay *e

achiee&erha&s inte/ration occurs eariest at the hei/ht of eciteent or ra/e there is a theoretica earier sta/e in 'hich 'hateer the infant oes that hurts is notone in hate. I hae use the 'or 0ruthess oe; in escri*in/ this sta/e. Is thisacce&ta*e> As the infant *ecoes a*e to fee a 'hoe &erson, so oes the 'or hateeeo& eanin/ as a escri&tion of a certain /rou& of his feein/s.

The other, ho'eer, hates her infant fro the 'or /o. I *eiee reu thou/ht it&ossi*e that a other ay uner certain circustances hae ony oe for her *oy*a*y6 *ut 'e ay ou*t this. We no' a*out a other0s oe an 'e a&&reciate its

reaity an &o'er. et e /ie soe of the reasons 'hy a other hates her *a*y,een a *oy.

A) The *a*y is not her o'n (enta) conce&tion.3) The *a*y is not the one of chihoo &ay, father0s chi, *rother0s chi, etc.C) The *a*y is not a/icay &rouce.D) The *a*y is a an/er to her *oy in &re/nancy an at *irth.) The *a*y is an interference 'ith her &riate ife, a chaen/e to &reoccu&ation.) To a /reater or esser etent a other fees that her o'n other eans a

*a*y, so that her *a*y is &rouce to &acate her other.E) The *a*y hurts her ni&&es een *y sucin/, 'hich is at first a che'in/

actiity.H) He is ruthess, treats her as scu, an un&ai serant, a sae.I) :he has to oe hi, ecretions an a, at any rate at the *e/innin/, ti he has

ou*ts a*out hisef.J) He tries to hurt her, &erioicay *ites her, a in oe.F) He sho's isiusionent a*out her.) His ecite oe is cu&*oar oe, so that hain/ /ot 'hat he 'ants he thro's

her a'ay ie oran/e &ee.

5)The *a*y at first ust oinate, he ust *e &rotecte fro coinciences, ifeust unfo at the *a*y0s rate an a this nees his other0s continuous an


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etaie stuy. or

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instance, she ust not *e anious 'hen hoin/ hi, etc.

) At first he oes not no' at a 'hat she oes or 'hat she sacrifices for hi.s&eciay he cannot ao' for her hate.

) He is sus&icious, refuses her /oo foo, an aes her ou*t hersef, *ut eats'e 'ith his aunt.

P) After an a'fu ornin/ 'ith hi she /oes out, an he sies at a stran/er, 'hosays# 0Isn0t he s'eetB0

G) If she fais hi at the start she no's he 'i &ay her out for eer.@) He ecites her *ut frustratesshe ustn0t eat hi or trae in se 'ith hi.

I thin that in the anaysis of &sychotics, an in the utiate sta/es of the anaysis,een of a nora &erson, the anayst ust fin hisef in a &osition co&ara*e tothat of the other of a ne'-*orn *a*y. When ee&y re/resse the &atient cannotientify 'ith the anayst or a&&reciate his &oint of ie' any ore than the foetus orne'y *o infant can sy&athi?e 'ith the other.

A other has to *e a*e to toerate hatin/ her *a*y 'ithout oin/ anythin/ a*out it.:he cannot e&ress it to hi. If, for fear of 'hat she ay o, she cannot hatea&&ro&riatey 'hen hurt *y her chi she ust fa *ac on asochis, an I thin itis this that /ies rise to the fase theory of a natura asochis in 'oen. The ostreara*e thin/ a*out a other is her a*iity to *e hurt so uch *y her *a*y an tohate so uch 'ithout &ayin/ the chi out, an her a*iity to 'ait for re'ars thatay or ay not coe at a ater ate. Perha&s she is he&e *y soe of the nurseryrhyes she sin/s, 'hich her *a*y en+oys *ut fortunatey oes not unerstan>

0@oca*ye 3a*y, on the tree to&.When the 'in *o's the crae 'i roc,When the *ou/h *reas the crae 'i fa,Do'n 'i coe *a*y, crae an a.0

I thin of a other (or father) &ayin/ 'ith a sa infant6 the infant en+oyin/ the &ayan not no'in/ that the &arent is e&ressin/ hate in the 'ors, &erha&s in *irthsy*ois. This is not a sentienta rhye. :entientaity is useess for &arents, asit contains a enia of hate, an sentientaity in a other is no /oo at a fro theinfant0s &oint of ie'.

It sees to e ou*tfu 'hether a huan chi as he eeo&s is ca&a*e of toeratin/the fu etent of his o'n hate in a sentienta enironent. He nees hate to hate.

If this is true, a &sychotic &atient in anaysis cannot *e e&ecte to toerate his hate ofthe anayst uness the anayst can hate hi.


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!ractical !rolem of Interpretation

If a this is acce&te there reains for iscussion the =uestion of the inter&retation ofthe anayst0s hate to the &atient. This is o*iousy a atter frau/ht 'ith an/er, an it

nees the ost carefu tiin/. 3ut I *eiee an anaysis is inco&ete if een to'arsthe en it has not *een &ossi*e for the anayst to te the &atient 'hat he, the anayst,i un*eno'n for the &atient 'hist he 'as i, in the eary sta/es. nti theinter&retation is ae the &atient is e&t to soe etent in the &osition of infant, one'ho cannot unerstan 'hat he o'es to his other.

S$MMA'(

An anayst has to is&ay a the &atience an toerance an reia*iity of a other

eote to her infant, has to reco/ni?e the &atient;s 'ishes as nees, has to &ut asieother interests in orer to *e aaia*e an to *e &unctua, an o*+ectie, an has tosee to 'ant to /ie 'hat is reay ony /ien *ecause of the &atient0s nees.

There ay *e a on/ initia &erio in 'hich the anayst0s &oint of ie' cannot *e(een unconsciousy) a&&reciate *y the &atient. Acno'e/ent cannot *ee&ecte *ecause at the &riitie root of the &atient that is *ein/ ooe for there isno ca&acity for ientification 'ith the anayst, an certainy the &atient cannot seethat the anayst0s hate is often en/enere *y the ery thin/s the &atient oes in his

crue 'ay of oin/.

In the anaysis (research anaysis) or in orinary ana/eent of the ore &sychotic

ty&e of &atient, a /reat strain is &ut on the anayst (&sychiatrist, enta nurse) an it isi&ortant to stuy the 'ays in 'hich aniety of &sychotic =uaity an aso hate are&rouce in those 'ho 'or 'ith seerey i &sychiatric &atients. ny in this 'aycan there *e any ho&e of the aoiance of thera&y that is aa&te to the nees of thethera&ist rather than to the nees of the &atient.

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1949 winnicott hate in the countertransference

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